


Supermarket Woes

by lvy3



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: BECAUSE SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENED TODAY, BT FUCKIN, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, High School AU, I CAN'T GO TO THE SUPERMARKET ANYMORE, It's summer, Kinda, M/M, Slow Burn, This is literally something that happened the other day and i wanted to write about it, Trans Character, WHICH WILL HAVE TO BE ANOTHER CHAPTER, and i am HORRIFIED, and they have all graduated, supermarket
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-19
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-15 15:05:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4611258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lvy3/pseuds/lvy3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh meets a really cute cashier at the local supermarket</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 01

Josh’s eyes snapped open to the sound of his phone going off at a million miles a minute. He groaned, throwing an arm across his eyes and rolling over to push his face into his too warm pillow. He did not want to deal with whatever was going on. Emergency shift cover at work? Someone heard rumors? Any other form of social interaction? He did not care.

Until the phone started ringing.

Groaning again, he pushed himself up off the bed so that he could sit on the edge of it. He grabbed his phone from the side table, and hit the answer button.

“What.”

“Josh, do you know what time it is?” His mom’s voice rang out on the other end of the line, making him regret the tone he’d used to pick up the phone.

“Mom, I’ll be straight with you, I do not. What I do know is that it is summer, and I have no work today, so I didn’t set an alarm.”

“I’m not loving the tone, but I’ll give you that one. It’s 1:30, and your friend has texted me wondering why you have not arrived to the potluck that you apparently promised to go to. Please deal with it, and get Debby to delete my number.” Josh ran a hand through his hair, chuckling.

“Got it, Mom. I should be home for dinner, I’ll let you know otherwise, yeah? Need me to pick up anything while I’m out?”

“Nope, you’re good. I’ve got to get back to work. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Josh hit the end button, and looked at all the texts he’d received. Thirty in total. All from Debby.

 

_You promised you’d come to this stupid thing, you’re not skipping out_

_Also, make sure you bring something, mom and dad are freaking out that they don’t have enough food_

_Maybe something for the vegetarians?_

_Joooossshhhhh_

_JJJJOOOOSSSHHH_

_I swear to god, if you don’t answer, I’m coming to your house myself_

_Okay, maybe I won’t, but only because it’s too hectic over here_

_If you’re still sleeping I’m going to kick your ass_

_You made me text your mom. You made me do that_

 

They went on and on, the most recent threatening various forms of violence if he didn’t text her back immediately. He decided to do one better as he pulled a shirt over his head.

“Joshua Dun, I swear to god, you better be on your way.”

“Please calm down, I slept in a little bit. I’m driving over but I’ve got to stop by the supermarket so I can pick up some stuff for the potluck. Any requests?”

“I request food.”

Josh rolled his eyes.

“I got that. Be there in 20.”

He hung up before she could get another word in.

****************************************************************************************  
“Hey, did you have blue hair a little while ago?”

Josh stopped rifling through his wallet to look up at the person speaking to him.

Their eyes were what caught his attention first.

They were deep set and kind, their dark irises sparkling in the shitty fluorescent lighting of the supermarket. They had soft features that were strangely sharp, making it difficult for Josh to figure out their gender, and their hair looked so soft that Josh was tempted to reach out and run his hand through their hair. But he didn’t, because that would be weird.

Almost as weird as staring at this incredibly attractive person instead of actually answering their question.

“Yeah, that was me. I had the blue hair. Well, blue green… hair.” He managed to force out, though his voice came out much quieter than he’d intended.

He smiled at the person in front of him to try and dispel the awkwardness that had seemed to clump to him. They smiled back at him, and they both went silent as Josh fumbled with his credit card.

“What’s your name?” The person asked quietly, so quietly that Josh almost missed the question.

“Josh.” He replied, smiling just a bit. He went back to shoving his card back into his wallet.

“My name is Tyler.” They said, even more quietly than before.

“Tyler.” Josh repeated, feeling the name roll around on his tongue. He smiled, grabbed his bags, and left.


	2. 02

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short, soz about that. Next chapter will make up for it, promise :))

“So you’ve got a crush on the bagging person at the supermarket.” Debby said, chewing on one of the several spinach knishes that Josh had grabbed while laying down on her bed. It was now a few hours after everyone had left the potluck, and Josh was scrolling through tumblr laying beside her.

“They are a cashier, and I do not have a crush. They were just cute.” Josh responded, not even looking away from his phone’s screen.

“Okay, sure. So, were they a boy or girl?”

“Don’t know. Didn’t ask. Does it matter?” Josh responded, side eyeing her immensely. She put her hands up, the paper plate balancing on her stomach. 

“No, just wondering.” Debby replied, looking at the door where Jenna, a girl Debby has been casually hooking up with for a couple months now, entered. “Jenna, Josh is in love.”

“That’s cool.” Jenna plopped down onto the foot of the bed, leaning against Debby’s knees. 

“Not in love.” Josh shot back, rolling his eyes.

“In like?” Debby giggled, pushing into Josh’s side. He groaned, getting up so Jenna could take his spot.

“What’s their name?” Jenna asked, putting her arm around Debby so she could cuddle into the crook of her arm. It was obnoxiously cute.

“Tyler.” Debby cooed, wiggling her eyebrows. 

“Tyler?” Jenna perked up, staring at Josh.

“Yeah, they work at the supermarket. You know them?”

“Kinda, yeah.” Jenna laughed, making both Debby and Josh stare at her. She sighed.

“We’re neighbors, been best friends for years. I didn’t realize you guys had never met. He’s great, you’d love him.” 

“Invite him over! It’ll make up for you missing the potluck, ya doof.” Debby started poking Jenna in the side until Jenna’s serious expression broke. 

“Okay, I’ll invite him over.” Jenna laughed, rolling over to grab her phone from the side table, but taking the time to push her face into Debby’s neck, making Debby blush. Josh rolled his eyes and made gagging noises from where he was seated, earning a stink eye from Jenna.

He just made a face, hoping that Jenna didn’t see how his hand was excitedly tapping against his leg or how his face had turned a shade darker. 

Tyler was coming over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, this is based off of very real events going on in my life. While writing this, it got a little weird, because i was like... this is literally what happened, I basically just changed the names and a few things, but it works so perfectly??
> 
> Anyways, lemme know what you guys think so far. Thanks!


	3. 03

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler comes to the party. Josh is an idiot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is drinking in this chapter, as well as misgendering.

By the time Tyler was finally able to get off work and head over to Debby’s, it was dark out and the three friends had lit a small fire in Debby’s backyard to drink shitty beer around. Hearing Tyler’s engine approach & then turn off, Jenna ran to the driveway to go meet him.

Josh tried to look cool and nonchalant, like he totally didn’t care that the very attractive cashier from before was coming right towards him, holy shit, why is Tyler coming towards him, is he going to call him out for being a creep and staring at him, or-

“Hey, Josh, right?” Tyler smiled at him, taking the only free seat in the circle, which happened to be right next to Josh. Josh wanted to smack himself, of course Tyler was just coming over to sit down.

“Yup, it’s me. Josh. The blue one. Well, red one now, but the one who had blue hair.” Josh wanted to go hide in a hole somewhere far away, but Tyler just giggled as Josh started rambling.

"Yeah, I remember. It’s only been about three hours.” Josh was grateful for the darkness, because if Tyler could see how red his face was, he’d be screwed.

“Right, of course. Want a drink?” Tyler nodded, and Josh leaned over to the cooler that held the Coors light that Debby’s parents had left out for them. They were surprisingly chill, and let them drink whenever, as long as they weren’t driving. Handing over the slightly-too-warm can, Tyler’s fingers brushed Josh’s, causing Josh to almost drop the can.

It was that moment that made Josh remember that this morning was not the first interaction that Tyler and him had had.

***********

_*A few weeks prior*_

As Josh was bagging the groceries he’d just bought, he heard a light voice excitedly say a few words to him.

“And with that, you’re my last customer.” Josh looked up at the origin of the voice to see, not really in the mood to have a conversation but not wanting to be rude. It was a feminine looking person, who looked incredibly happy.

“Um, Congrats?” Josh replied, confused. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but he genuinely meant it. He worked at a local bakery quite a bit, and he knew that dealing with your last customer of the day was one of the best feelings in the world.

They just smiled at each other, continuing the transaction in an otherwise normal fashion.

************

“Oh!” Josh exclaimed as Tyler took a sip of his beer. Tyler looked up at him, interested. “You’re the girl who talked to me a couple of weeks ago!”

Immediately, Josh realized what he’d done. He felt his body grow cold but his ears grow hot, as he’d realized his mistake. He knew Tyler was a boy, but when they’d first met, Josh had assumed Tyler was a girl.

Tyler’s expression didn’t change at all, just nodded and continued drinking. Josh felt horrified.

“Or person…” Josh said quietly, looking at the ground. He wanted to vomit. The amount of times Josh had been mistaken as a girl, or called miss or anything like that had made him want to cry. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what it felt like for your gender identity to be constantly doubted because of how stigmatized the trans community was. He wanted to reach over and grab Tyler, shout that he was sorry and it would never happen again. But he didn’t want to make the situation even more awkward than it already was. So he grabbed another beer, and stared at the fire in front of him while Tyler and he just sat in silence, listening to Debby and Jenna talk.

It was a few moments more before Tyler spoke up.

“What music do you like? Jenna mentioned that you play the drums.” Tyler looked over at Josh, obviously trying to move the focus away from Josh’s stupidity.

“Oh, you know, a bit of everything. A lot of alternative stuff, y’know, Radiohead, Fall Out Boy, Death Cab for Cutie, Blink 182.”

“Oh, really? I love those bands!” Tyler started fucking _beaming_ , oh my god, he looked so fantastic. He then immediately went off on a tangent about music theory and all that, which Josh just listened to, amazed, because he actually knew what he was talking about. This went on for a few hours, over the course of which quite of bit of liquor was drank, since Debby decided that, no, beer wasn’t cutting it, she wanted tequila shots. Not that Josh was complaining, mind you, the tequila that Debby’s parents stocked was fantastic, but _s_ _till_.

It wasn’t until Josh tried to stand up to follow everyone inside so that could put on a movie that he realized he was absolutely trashed. Like, the kind of trashed where you can’t even really keep your head up. The worst part about realizing this was also realizing that he was the most sober of the bunch. Debby and Jenna were basically grinding on each other, and Tyler looked like he might be dead. Josh suddenly understood that he had to be the adult here and put everyone to bed. Well, Tyler to bed, Jenna and Debby were already heading up to Debby’s room, leaving Josh and Tyler to have the basement.

Josh sat Tyler down on the couch as he ran around, getting water and blankets before plopping himself down on the couch next to Tyler, who was surprisingly awake considering how drunk he looked.

“Josh, do you think I’m a girl?” Josh froze, horrified. He’d almost, _almost_  forgotten his faux pas from earlier.

“I don’t, Tyler, I just fucked up earlier. I know you’re a boy, I’m just awful with social situations. I get too nervous.”

Tyler just hummed in response, snuggling up to Josh and basically intertwining his body with Josh’s. Josh was not about to complain.

“If you know I’m not a girl, then why do you get all flustered whenever I’m around?”

Josh was not drunk enough for this. He would never be drunk enough for this. So, he decided to pretend to be asleep, which made Tyler huff and push into Josh.

“I know you’re not asleep, you ass.” Josh just giggled, making Tyler start giggling in return.

“I like your laugh.” Josh said, looking Tyler directly in the eye. It was finally Tyler’s turn to blush, which made Josh want to do even more things to him, worse things to make him blush more.

“Let’s go to sleep.” Tyler said, turning away from Josh. Josh grinned, and pushed a quick peck to Tyler's cheek before rolling over to fall asleep on another portion of the couch.

Neither of them got much sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where the story diverges from what really happened. Like, some of this happened, but in a different context. Let me know what you guys think, and thanks for reading.


	4. 04

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast the morning after

“Josh, wake up, we’re going to the diner!” Debby sang, falling on top of Josh, making Jenna start giggling from where she was standing. Josh groaned, his head throbbing as he wrapped his arms around Debby. She squealed and squirmed, trying to get away from his grip.

“Go away, it’s too early for this.”

“Babe, I know you like sleeping late, but one in the afternoon is long enough. Tyler already left, now get the hell up. I’m craving some pancakes.” Debby snuggled in next to Josh, while Jenna just stayed where she was stood. That last bit caught Josh’s attention though.

“Tyler already left?” Josh’s face fell, remembering last night. Had he horrified Tyler that much, to the point that he couldn’t face Tyler in the morning? He wanted to pull the covers back over his face and never wake up again.

Apparently his thoughts were obvious.

“Stop being so damn dramatic, he has work. You’re such a drama queen, Jesus.” Jenna rolled her eyes, and Josh could feel his face heat up.

“Shut up, Jenna.” Josh mumbled, rubbing his eyes and yawning, while Jenna laughed and plopped herself next to them on the couch.

“He had a good time last night, apparently.” Jenna said, sharing a look with Debby that Josh couldn’t figure out.

“Oh?” Josh tried to look uninterested, but failed miserably.

“’Oh?’” Both Jenna and Debby mimicked him, dissolving into giggles. He rolled his eyes, pushing Debby off of him so he could get up.

“Let’s just go already.”

*************

“So, it looked like you two had a fun time last night.” Josh wiggled his eyebrows at Jenna once Debby had gone to the bathroom. Debby hated it when Josh talked about their relationship when Jenna was around, but Josh sort of liked pissing Debby off. They’d been friends for too long, there were very few thing left that he could do to ruin their friendship, and he took full advantage of that fact.

“Oh, we had fun, but I’m more interested in what you did last night.” Jenna took a sip of her peppermint tea, looking at Josh over the lip of the dingy cup she held in her hands.

“We did nothing. He was drunk, no way I would try anything.” Josh stuffed a piece of waffled into his mouth, the fork making a tinging sound off his tooth. “If anything substantial happened, it was that I fucked up and misgendered him, and then told him his laugh was cute.”

“Well, are you trying to do anything?” She stared at him, intently. Josh suddenly had flashbacks to the time he'd met his first girlfriend’s father. Thankfully, he was far more sober this time and wasn’t being threatened by a 6’1” ex-marine. Though, Jenna was slightly more terrifying.

“I would like to get his number sometime, if I was living in a perfect world where talking to attractive people didn’t give me severe anxiety.” Josh shrugged, laughing.

“Shut it, you’re an attractive person.” Debby had returned, plopping herself next to Jenna.

“Okay, mom, I’m pretty too.” Josh rolled his eyes, chuckling as he reached for his cup of coffee.

“Tyler certainly thought so.” Jenna muttered, her eyes gleaming mischievously.

“Tyler said I was pretty?” Josh’s ears were burning.

“Among other things…” Jenna trailed off, taking another sip of her tea.

Josh went wide-eyed, before his hands started rubbing his face aggressively.

“Would it be weird if I asked you for his number?” Josh refused to look at Jenna. He could feel her gloating looks from across the table.

“Why not ask yourself. We can stop by the supermarket after we pay the bill.” Debby grinned widely, hugging Jenna’s arm.

“Perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think :)  
> Tragically, what really happened is nothing like this, but a girl can dream right?


	5. 05

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh gets Tyler's number by bothering him at work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, I know this is short, but there's going to be smut next chapter. You're welcome

Josh followed a few steps behind Jenna and Debby, who were happily striding through the doors of the supermarket with their entwined hands swinging between them. Josh tried to look casual as he followed the two girls, picking up chip bags to look at the nutritional values before placing them back where they’d been. He wanted, very badly, to not look as if he specifically came to this supermarket just to try and get some guy's number.

But that’s why he was there, and it was clear to everyone around him. He even thought he heard the man behind the bakery counter snicker, but he decided to chalk that up to his nerves. 

Eventually the group of three made it to Tyler’s lane, and when they arrives Josh swore he looked even more amazing than last night, despite Tyler very obviously being hungover and annoyed to have to work a shift the day after a party. 

“Hey, baby boy, how’s it going?” Jenna passed a Red Bull to Tyler, who rang it up for her, before trying to pass it back to her. She refused though, and gave the dollar to Tyler, smiling. He grinned, taking a swig of the drink before stashing it somewhere beneath the conveyor belt. 

“Awful. I want to die.” Tyler did look like he was exhausted, and Josh felt awful for thinking the dark under eyes circles made Tyler look hot. It didn’t stop him from thinking that, but he felt bad. 

“I’ve got some Advil, if you want.” Josh spoke up, reaching into his bag to grab a huge container of the pain reliever. He’d taken to carrying around basically everything you’d need for an emergency ever since Debby was kind of a total klutz. He was always prepared, though. 

“That would be fantastic.” Tyler held his hand out so that Josh could drop four pills into his hand. 

“Two for now and two for later.” Josh said sternly, eyeing Tyler. Tyler nodded, and pocketed the extra ones.

“Damn, babe, I love it when you get all domestic.” Debby basically moaned, which made Jenna crack up. Josh just rolled his eyes, grinning stupidly at Debby. 

“So, what are you guys doing here? I assume you didn’t come all the way here just to buy me a Red Bull and give me some good ol’ Advil, which thank you for that.” Tyler looked over at Josh, which made Josh look at his feet, his face flushing slightly. 

“Josh had something to ask you.” Debby drew out the end of her sentence tauntingly, which made Josh wanted to die. 

“Oh?” Tyler grinned at Josh. 

“Yeah, I was just wondering if I could get your number, in case, y’know, there’s ever another party so that we don’t have to invite Jenna just so we can invite you.” Josh smiled right at Jenna, his eyes crinkling up and his tongue pressing against his teeth. Jenna reached over and punched him in the arm, laughing. 

“Sure. Here, hand over your phone.” Tyler reached his hand out, and Josh dropped his IPhone into his open palm. Tyler quickly typed in his information, locked the phone, and then handed it back to Josh. 

“As nice as it was seeing you all, you guys have to go or else my manager will kick my ass. Text me so I can get your number too.” Tyler grinned, and Josh nodded a little too quickly. 

“Talk to you later!” Debby called out, while Jenna gave a quick kiss on his cheek. Josh just waved quietly. 

“That went well.” Debby said once they were all seated inside her Jeep. 

Josh couldn’t help but agree once he saw that Tyler had put himself in as “Netflix and Chill”.


	6. 06

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night Runs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long guys..... I've been busy, y'know how it is, going back to school and all that. As always, let me know what you guys think! Thanks for reading!
> 
> ALSO SMUT

JD: Hey there Big Boi ;)))  
TJ: Please tell me this is Josh  
JD: Josh who?  
TJ: You’re such a dick  
JD: You know me ;))))  
JD: So, does the offer still stand for netflix&chill?  
TJ: I knew it was you  
TJ: and ye  
JD: is it cool if we skip the netflix and just chill?  
TJ: Oh??  
JD: What are you doing rn?  
TJ: It’s, like, midnight  
JD: and??? Send me your address, I’ll pick you up in 10  
TJ: …okay

Josh wanted to actually, literally pump his fist in the air as another text from Tyler with his address came in. He jumped out of bed, got ready, gave himself a quick one over in the mirror before driving the few miles over to Tyler’s house. It actually took Josh less than 10 minutes to get to Tyler’s, and Tyler did not let him forget it from the moment he got in the car.

“Pretty excited to see me, huh?” Tyler grinned at Josh as he slid into the passenger side. Josh was thankful when Tyler slammed his door shut, turning the automatic light off inside the car thus concealing Josh’s blushing face. 

“You’re annoying.” Josh laughed, reversing out of Tyler’s driveway and driving away. 

“I know, but so are you. Where exactly are we going, anyway?” Tyler was looking over at Josh, the light from the radio illuminating his face. His deep set eyes seemed to bore into Josh, almost like he was reading his mind. Josh sincerely hoped not, or he would be a blushing mess by the end of all this. 

“I know this cool spot that overlooks most of town. It’s really amazing at night, I thought you’d like it.” Josh kept his eyes on the road, but he had a smile on his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tyler nod before looking out his window.

It was relatively silent for the rest of the short ride to the spot, save for the soft music that was escaping the speakers of the car, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Once they made it to the secluded area, Josh put the car in park and turned towards Tyler.

“So, why did you bring me out here?” Tyler smirked at him, almost taunting.

“I, um, I actually wanted to apologize?” Tyler looked incredibly confused as Josh said this. 

“Apologize? For what?”

“I fucked up the other day. I misgendered you, and I know that’s a really awful situation, like obviously I’m not going experience it in the same way that you are, but any time people have called me miss or something like that has made me go home in tears basically, and I just feel awful—“ Josh rambled, his heart rate increasing. The thought of Tyler being upset made Josh want to cry, and the thought of Josh being the one to cause Tyler to be upset made Josh want to die. 

“It’s okay.” Tyler tried to interrupt, putting his hand on Josh’s shoulder, but Josh just kept going.

“No, really, I just want to make it clear that I am very sorry and if I caused you—“

“It’s okay.”

“—any pain and discomfort from that, I totally understand if you don’t ever want to hang out—“ 

This time, Josh was cut off my Tyler leaning over and pressing his lips to Josh’s, effectively shutting him up. He pulled back, holding Josh’s face in his hands very tightly.

“I didn’t come out here to hear you apologize.” Their faces were close, to the point that Josh could feel Tyler’s breath on his slick lips. Tyler’s eyes were flickering between Josh’s eyes and his lips.

“What did you come out here for?” Josh managed to get out, his thoughts trying to figure out the situation. Rather than answering, Tyler just gave Josh a look, one that said “you’ve got to be kidding me right now”. Josh wanted to laugh at the look, but instead leaned forward, pressing their lips together again. He pulled his hands up, resting one on Tyler’s neck and the other tangled in Tyler’s soft hair, drawing him in closer. Tyler’s hands gripped Josh’s biceps, melting into the kiss. 

“Mmm, hold on.” Josh mumbled into this kiss before breaking apart. Tyler looked confused, pulling back. He looked so nice, his lips swollen and wet. Josh had to bite his lip, once again thankful for the dark. He pulled himself over the middle console so that he could straddle Tyler in the passenger seat.

“Sorry, I hated leaning over.” Josh was looking down at Tyler now, grinning. Tyler just nodded, keeping his mouth shut. “Are we okay to continue? I know it’s cramped, but—“

“Nope, totally cool with continuing.” Tyler’s voice broke, and Josh had to hold himself back slightly. 

“Good.” Josh leaned down to meet Tyler for another kiss, grinding into Tyler’s lap. Tyler gasped lightly, his lips parting in the kiss, gripping Josh’s thighs. Josh sucked on Tyler’s lip, moving down from Tyler’s lips to Tyler’s neck. Tyler moaned breathily as Josh nibbled on his ear, still grinding on his lap, but pushed Josh back suddenly. Josh looked at him, nervous.

“Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?” Josh asked quickly, worried.

“No—ah—I’m sorry.” Tyler was flushed and his lips were slick, but his eyes were panicked. “Do you mind if we stop?”

“That’s fine!” Josh said, opening the door so he could get out. “Do you want to sit outside for a minute, get some fresh air?”

“Yeah, that would be great.” Tyler ran a hand through his hair before stepping out of the car. They sat on the grass in front of the car, Tyler breathing heavily and Josh just listening. They stayed like that for a few moments before Tyler spoke up.

“You’re really pretty.”

Josh nearly snapped his neck with how quickly he looked at Tyler, but Tyler had his head between his knees, trying to catch his breath. Josh just smiled before responding.

“I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be honest with all of you, most of this is something that happened to me like in the past couple of days. I changed one or two things, but lemme just tell you hopefully it works out better for Tyler & Josh b/c it is not working out well for me goddamn


End file.
